Henry s



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY S. PARMELEE, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE MATI-IUSHEK PIANO MANUFACTURINGCOMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

UPRlGHT-PIANO CASE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 327,714, dated October 6, 1885.

Application filed December 9, 1884. Serial No. 149,886. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

7 Be it known that I, HENRY S. PARMELEE, of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Cases for Upright Pianos, of which the following is a full,

'' clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

10 The objects of my invention are to decrease the depth of upright-pianoforte cases, and to provide a music rest or holder for the same which shall properly support a music sheet or book.

An important advantage possessed by upright pianos, as compared with either square or grand pianos, is that the upright piano occupies very little floor-space, and consequently may be readily accommodated in apartments in which either a square or a grand piano could not be conveniently placed; but upright pianos as at present constructed are provided with inadequate means for closing the keyboard and for supporting the a 5 music sheet or book. The cover as now constructed is necessarily very wide, and has to be hinged at a point sufficiently beyond the front of the case to allow the cover to be tilted obliquely backward in order to remain in raised position. It will thus be seen that the key-board of the piano has to be extended outward to an undesirable extent, and that the piano thus occupies an objectionable amount of floor-space. Moreover, owing to the great amount of space in the front of the casing which is occupied by the key-board cover when raised, it becomes necessary to utilize the cover as a music rest or supporter. The cover constitutes a very crude and inefficient 4o music-rest, because the bead or flange which is necessarily formed upon the outer end of the cover, in order that it may properly close the key-board, prevents the musicsheet from rest ing against an even or plane surface. The

result of this construction is, that the music sheet or book is continually falling forward upon the keyboard. Furthermore, the position of the music sheet or book is such as to cause an awkward stopping or leaning forward of the performer, and the music has to be removed before the cover can be closed.

My invention remedies all of these defects; and it consists in the peculiar and novel construction of the pianocase,whereby the music rest or supporter is formed permanently in the 5 5 front of the case, and whereby, also, the cover is greatlylessened in width, so as to produce a corresponding decrease in the depth of the piano-case, as hereinafter described and claimed.

In order that my invention may be fully un- 50 derstood, I will proceed to describe it with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of myimproved piano-case. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the same on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detached view of the musicrest.

In the said drawings, A designates the back, bottom, and top of the casing, which parts are of the usual or any preferred form suitable for inclosing the internal parts of an upright piano-forte.

B designates the front of the casing, and A designates the key-board.

C designates the key-board cover, which is hinged at one edge to the front of the casing above thekey-board. This cover may be either of the form shown in the drawings or of the form of a grand-piano cover, or of any other similar form. If the cover be of the grandpiano form, it would be pivoted at its ends above the key-board, in the manner usual with such covers. In whatever particular form the cover is made, it is much narrower than the ordinary upright-piano cover, and when 8 raised stands vertically against the front of the casing above thekey-board, and on account of the narrowness of the cover occupies but little of the front space, as is clearly shown in Figs.

1 and 2. 0

D designates the music-rest, which is set rigidly and permanently in the front of the casing in such manner as to incline upward and backward from a point above the space occupied by the cover when it is raised to- 5 ward the top of the casing. It will thus be seen that the coverC may be opened or closed without removing the music sheet or book, the latter being supported entirely by the rest D.

b designates a ledge which sustains the lower edge of the rest D, and which is formed by the upper edge of that portion of the front 13 which intervenes between the key-board and the rest. This ledge serves also to support the loweredge of the music sheet or book, and to insure the proper holding of the music sheet or book this ledge is preferably serrated on its upper edge, as shown in Fig. 3.

a to designate, respectively, the side panels and the end moldings of the piano front, which are usually employed to heighten the symmetry of the casing.

It will thus be seen that by virtue of my invention the depth of thekey-board is very materially decreased, and as a consequence the depth of the casing is correspondingly lessened. The general appearance of this class of cases is greatly improved, and the music sheet or book need not be removed from the rest when the cover is opened or closed. Moreover, the music sheet or book when placed upon the rest is in the very best position for the purposes of the player, and consequently all bending or stooping forward is avoided. It will also be seen that the music sheet or book when placed upon. the rest lies against a fiat or plane surface, and consequently all breaking down of the sheet and all tendency of the sheet or book to fall forward upon the key-board are avoided.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. An improved uprightpiano case having a fixed music rest or supporter forming a permanent part of the front, and located above the space occupied by the cover when thelatter is raised, substantially as described.

2. In an upright-piano case, the combina tion, with a narrow cover hinged or pivoted above the key-board, of a fixed music rest or holder set rigidly and permanently recessed in the front of the casing above the space occupied by the cover when raised, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination, with the casing A, having the front B and the narrow key-board A, of the narrow cover 0, hinged or pivoted above the key-board, and the inclined fixed rest D, set rigidly and permanently in the front above the space occupied by the cover when raised, as specified.

4. The combination, with the case A, of the front B, with its fixed rest D, ledge b, panels a and moldings a, the key board A, and the key-cover O, as specified.

HENRY S. PARMELEE.

XVitnesscs:

O. C. BUCKINGHAM, WM. HAMEY. 

